SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 16 — Differences between the genders may be just as pronounced online as some say they are in the real world, according to a presentation given by Helen Nowicka from research company Porter Novelli as part of London’s Social Media Week.

Social Media Week runs February 13-17 and examines advances in social media and its impact on cultural, political, and economic changes. 

Nowicka gave a presentation titled “Men are from Foursquare, Women are from Facebook”; the report was also published on February 14 on the Porter Novelli blog.

The report found several key differences in online social interactions between men and women. According to the report, while both genders are highly engaged in social media, women use it as a platform to “reinforce existing social connections” and “interact with friends and family”; men, on the other hand, are more likely to use it to share statuses and promote their opinions.

Additionally women are more active on social networks than men, with 65 per cent accessing social media “at least once a week,” compared to only 51 per cent of men.

Women were also more likely to connect with people they know, with 93 per cent using social media to read posts or view pictures and comment on a friend’s profile; according to the report, 89 per cent of men read friends posts and 84 per cent comment on friends’ profiles. 

The idea that men are more likely to use social media to broadcast opinions, according to the report, is reflected by a higher per cent of male than female Twitter users — 35 per cent to 27 per cent.

Men are also more likely to be active on blogs, with more men (34 per cent) than women (24 per cent) actively blogging and more men (54 per cent) than women (46 per cent) seeking out other people’s blogs to read.

According to data from Experian Hitwise, Facebook, the world’s largest social network, is more popular among women than men, with 57 per cent of its traffic over the three months prior to February stemming from female users. — AFP/Relaxnews